Rationing, government policy consisting of the planned and restrictive allocation of scarce resources and consumer goods, usually practiced during times of war, famine, or some other national emergency.

U.S. ration book used during World War II.

Bill Faulk

Rationing may be of several types. Informal rationing, which precedes the imposition of formal controls, may consist of admonitions to consumers to reduce their consumption or of independent action taken by suppliers in allocating scarce supplies. Rationing according to use prohibits the less important uses of a commodity. Rationing by quantity may limit the hours during which the commodity is available or may assign quotas of a commodity to all known and approved claimants. Rationing by value limits the amount consumers may spend on commodities that cannot be standardized, the consumer being allowed to make his own selections within the value limits imposed. Point rationing assigns a point value to each commodity and allocates a certain number of points to each consumer; this system is employed during periods of critical and increasing shortages when individuals begin substituting unrationed for rationed items, thereby spreading shortages.

Consumers in a rationed economy are usually exhorted to save by purchasing government bonds or by increasing their deposits in savings banks so that unspent money will not be used for increased purchases of unrationed items or for purchases on the black market.

...entitlement failures. It can be argued, for example, that the Bangladesh famine of 1974, which was precipitated by the effects of widespread flooding, would have been less severe if the state’s food-rationing system had not been in place. The rationing system was flawed because it provided subsidized rationed food to only the country’s urban population. In 1974, despite higher-than-usual rice...

trading in violation of publicly imposed regulations such as rationing laws, laws against certain goods, and official rates of exchange among currencies. Rationing is common in wartime in order to equalize the distribution of scarce goods and services; black-market activity may consist of charging more than the legal prices, stealing or counterfeiting ration currency, and making side payments...

Britannica Web sites

Rationing is a U.S. government policy instituted during emergencies (mainly wartime) to restrict allocation of scarce resources and consumer goods; rationing according to use inhibits less vital consumption of a product, such as gasoline; rationing by quantity limits amounts purchased at a single time; point rationing allocates point values to products and allows consumers a limited number of points within time periods; price rationing, in which rising prices limit spending, is a nongovernmental type imposed by workings of market.